This Family of 6 Doubled Their Cell Phone Lines and Cut Their Bill in Half

Jill Haus has four kids between the ages of 12 and 18.

“It’s a little crazy around here,” she says, laughing. “I just run around to all their events and cheer them on.”

One’s into rock climbing. Another into band. One sings. Another runs. With so many after-school activities to keep track of, Haus, a hair stylist in Ankeny, Iowa, wanted her kids to have cell phones so they could all stay connected. (Of course, the kids wanted to Snapchat with their friends, too.)

Haus and her husband, Shannon, had been long-time Verizon customers. But when she added her oldest to the plan, their bill climbed to $250 a month. “It felt really hefty,” she says. “That’s a car payment — for a phone service.”

And she still had three more kids who needed cell phone plans.

Then Haus heard about Twigby, a discount cell phone carrier.

“I couldn’t believe the prices,” she says of Twigby’s plans, which start at $9 a month. That meant she could get the whole family on a plan for less than half the cost of their Verizon bill.

Is a $9/Month Cell Phone Service Too Good to Be True?

“But what if it doesn’t work? What if it’s too good to be true?” Haus recalls asking herself.

After all, discount phone carriers aren’t always known for having the most reliable service. And prices starting at $9 a month? That just seemed impossible.

But with her monthly Verizon bill climbing (her oldest daughter somehow always forgot to connect to Wi-Fi), Haus was willing to take the risk.

“There was no way I was going to add more lines on Verizon at that point,” she says.

To test the waters, she switched over to Twigby first. She was able to keep her phone number but purchased a new phone through Twigby. (Depending on your service, Twigby allows some phones to come with you. To see if your phone is compatible with Twigby, click “Bring Your Phone” at the top of the homepage.)  

After a month of use, she was happy. She didn’t have to sacrifice her talk, text or data needs, and the service worked well in her area. So she added lines for her three “littles” onto the plan. Then finally her husband. Her oldest daughter got her own plan. (Most phone carriers have a line limit; Twigby allows up to five.)

In the end, Haus and her three youngest kids’ lines each cost $15 a month for 1 GB of data and 300 minutes of talk. Her husband wanted 3 GB, and her oldest daughter needed 2 GB, so their lines cost $26 and $19, respectively. Plus, every Twigby plan comes with free unlimited texting.

For all six lines, it’s $105 per month, before tax.

Switching to Twigby allowed the family to cut its cell phone bill by more than half — and double their lines.

“Isn’t that stunning?” she asks. “That’s less than I paid for two phones.”

How to Seamlessly Switch Your Phone Carrier

After nearly two years with Twigby, Haus is still very happy with the service — and its price tag.

“It’s daunting to move that many lines,” Haus says. “But I’m thrilled with it. It’s so nice everyone has their own phone.”

If you’re interested in switching to Twigby, learn more about its plan — and how you can save 25% off your first six months of service.

And if you’re worried about the hassle? Don’t be. Haus is basically a pro at switching cell service providers, so she offered some tips to help others cut free from their exorbitant cell phone bills:

1. If you’re worried about having reliable service, test the waters, like Haus did. Because Twigby offers a 30-day guarantee (or it’ll refund you), Haus could make sure she had coverage where she needed it before moving the rest of the family. Plus, Twigby operates on the Sprint network for talk, text and data. And if you’re ever outside of Sprint coverage, Twigby lets you use the Verizon network for talk and text for no additional charge.
2. All Twigby plans come with free texting, so you’ll choose your plans based on data usage and minutes. If you’re not sure how much of each you need, check your cell phone bill to see how much you used last month.
3. Don’t worry about potential overage fees for extra data. Instead, Twigby just bumps you up to the next level of data, which is anywhere from $3 to $10 more. For Haus, it’s $5. “Not a big deal,” she says. You can also opt in for Twigby’s Overage Protection plan, which will prevent you from exceeding your plan.
4. Finally, you’re likely attached to your current phone and number. Don’t worry: You don’t have to part with it. Twigby will hold your hand through the process of bringing your phone and number with you.
5. And if you have any questions, just hop on a live chat with customer service. Haus has been thrilled with how easy it is to get in touch with the Twigby team.

But the most thrilling part of it all? The savings.

“There’s more room in the budget, and that’s been very positive,” Haus says. “You can definitely feel it in the day-to-day. You don’t have to be quite so panicked.”

Carson Kohler (carson@thepennyhoarder.com) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

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